Conglomerates necessary to push Korea into the next level
Three-dimensional (3D) display is a display technology that can make an image look real enough to touch. It is remarkably different from existing twodimensional flat images.
This technology is being forecast to lead the next generation in digital display culture. The new concept of 3D media that looks real enough to eat will enhance the quality of visual information by several degrees.
The demand for cutting-edge threedimensional display technology is fierce.
Most of the attention comes from nextgeneration multimedia telecommunication services. Most of the fierce development competition comes from these companies as well.
This new kind of 3D technology is expected to have many applications beyond simply new television programs. It is expected to be the core application technology within new telecommunications, broadcasting, medical treatment, movie, game, and animation developments.
Favorite of next-generation multimedia and telecommunication companies People gather over 80% of the total information about their environment through their eyes, according to Dr. Kim Eun-soo, director of the 3D Display Research Center (www.3drc.org) at Kwangwoon University. Therefore, it is easy to understand that the development of 3D display technology that looks good enough to touch is becoming a hot topic, he explained in an exclusive interview with the Korea IT Times. Director Kim Eun-soo also serves as a professor in the Electronic Engineering Department of his university since 1981.
Professor Kim is the highest-ranking veteran of three-dimensional imaging and display research and development. He has worked on various kinds of development projects involving large-scale projection 3D displays, 3D monitors and televisions, holographic and volumetric 3D displays,2D/3D dual-use display panels, and 3D cameras for the past 20 years. According to him, threedimensional display technology will soon be a reality.
Kim said that if one watches current electronics and information technology development trends, one can see that the futuristic features of science fiction movies are not far away. Many fanciful science fiction technologies are actually currently in development and will become very popular as soon as their development cycles are completed.
The Director said that above all, Samsung's and LG's considerable display resources and worldwide infrastructure are necessary to complete this project. Without their participation, the development cannot move forward.
Three-dimensional display technology development is not a project to be carried out by smaller companies or venture startups, Professor Kim pointed out. The high costs of packaging, content creation and development can ruin smaller companies. Kim explained: "It is desirable for larger conglomerates such as Samsung to undertake the 3D project." It is actually being reported that
Samsung Electronics gives notice the 3D age by adopting a 3D display project, and aims to see some fruit after ten years. Also, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) oversaw a pilot 3D broadcasting project for the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, and is approaching the 3D business with greater interest as one can see in the Ministry's 3D Vision 2010 plan.
Other countries also predict that Korea would be foremost in 3D display research, according to Professor Kim, who interpreted that circumstance to indicate that Samsung and LG already hold the largest 3D development infrastructure in the world.
Japan in particular rates Korea highly in 3D development. However, Korea's most vulnerable point is its fragile manpower base, Kim pointed out. Therefore, he emphatically asserted that it is important to offer incentives for the training of 3D display-related manpower within the next 10 years.
Media good enough to touch In order to actualize a natural 3D display, the Director said: "It must be possible to embody a virtual object exactly like a natural solid when one views three dimensional displays."
Researchers are attaining many new ways to materialize the image of a complete 3D solid in moving holographic displays, Kim explained. Holographic video is the ultimate in 3D display technologies.
Holography does not record one angle of an object like a photograph, but records the entire three-dimensional features of an object. This is a kind of 3D photography devised by English physicist Dennis Gabor. "Holography embodies a perfectly real 3D image," Kim said.
Regarding the commercial outlook of 3D technology in the coming years, Professor Kim explained that the goal of complete commercialization means that everyone can use the technology freely in their household. However, without steady development of 3D technology, the professor went so far as to say that the future informatization era would be impossible.
In closing, Kim said that 3D display technology is promising to be the next generation in displays after flat panel LCD monitors.
Global 3D research mecca Kwangwoon University's 3D Display Research Center (3DRC) has been carrying out next-generation 3D display research and development for over 10 years, according to Professor Kim. He commented that 3D display research centers with real research results and facilities are quite uncommon in Korea. The University's 3D research center is also quite well-known, as it has been featured in the press many times.
Currently, many say that Director Kim is operating the 3D Display Research Center so that the domestic 3D display field can make rapid progress. The Center is gathering many experts from domestic universities, laboratories, and corporations. Professor Kim committed himself to do his best to develop the Center into a worldwide mecca of 3D display research and development. He has proposed a plan for overseas collaboration with foreign counterparts in 23 different universities from 13 countries. He has also created collaboration projects between his Center and 3 nationally funded research think tanks including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. He has also created collaboration research relationships with Samsung electronics and LG Electronics.
